Overseas plant orders for S. Korea rise 1.2 pct in H1

Overseas orders for industrial plants won by South Korean builders grew 1.2 percent to $28.6 billion in the first half (H1) of 2012 from a year ago, the Ministry of Knowledge Economy (MKE) said Tuesday. As large-scale projects are due to start in H2, based on such strong H1 performance, Korea is expected to reach its earlier target of $70 billion for this year, said the MKE. In the January to June period, orders increased from Asian and Latin American countries, contributing to the reduction of heavy reliance on the Middle East. In particular, orders from Asian countries jumped 192 percent, representing 35.6 percent of the total from 12.4 percent a year ago and orders from Latin America expanded by 20.2 percent, led by Venezuela and Chile. In contrast, orders from Europe dropped 57.6 percent due to concerns about the fiscal debt crisis and orders from the Middle East fell 29 percent, representing 34.8 percent in H1, down from 49.9 percent a year ago.